Renaissance
by Lightning and Ice
Summary: As much as Spottedleaf would prefer anything to the nothingness that comes after Starclan, she doesn't quite realize what she's signing up for when she takes the offer of a second chance.
1. Rebirth

After Mapleshade had delivered the assuredly fatal blow to her throat, and she'd said her last words to firestr and Sandstorm, she'd let the darkness wash over her.

Now, Spottedleaf regretted going without a fight. The darkness stretched as far as her eyes could see, not that she was sure she even had eyes anymore.

In the brief seconds she'd thought about it, she'd expected there to be nothing waiting for her in her second death. A similar darkness, yes, but one with no thoughts,no feelings, and certainly not a need to keep reminding herself she had paws or a tail or an ear.

Nevertheless, she'd prefer the nothing. A consciousness meant she could think, and think she did. About her family, starclan, the fate of the living clan. For all she knew, she'd been here for eons, and the clans had ceased to exist. There was no way to tell how much time had passed. It could have been seasons, or seconds.

It was getting to the point where she was trying to forget how to be a cat and forcefully bring on the nothingness when she saw it.

A blob of color, muted but enough to make her eyes- Yes, she certainly seemed to have eyes- sting. Without a thought, she began calling up every image of paws and legs and movement to propel herself towards it.

Whiskers and a tail emerged from the blob, and before she even realized it, she knew it was a cat.

In her life or death, she couldn't recall ever being so happy to see someone, or so desperate to be near them.

Still, when she could make out the cat's eyes, she stopped. Spottedleaf didn't know what rules this place was governed by, but invading the personal space of the only one that could help her did not seem like a good idea.

"Excuse me, where are we?" She asked, trying to keep her mew level and polite.

I turned out that it was an effort wasted. Her words didn't land in her own ears, nor did she feel her mouth shape the.

Somehow, though, the cat responded.

"Nowhere. Quite literally."

The words appeared in her mind, completely devoid of emotion and unarguably foreign. Communication here unnerved her, silent and invasive, but she still welcome it after the previous silence.

"Well, do you know how to get me back to Starclan? Or anywhere?" She asked, concentrating on her words instead of trying to force them out of her mouth.

"No, not Starclan. But I can get you somewhere, in a sense."

"Well, then, please do!" She said, after a moment's pause. Past the strong relief that she was _finally _being offered a way out, her patience was dissolving with every one of the cat's cryptic answers.

"Yes, I believe I can. Just give me a moment to find a sickly little kit down above, we do the switch, and there we go: Healthy young kit and another spirit in waiting. "

All excitement faded as the cat finished it's speech.

"What was that part about a sickly kit? And 'another spirit in waiting?" She asked, beyond suspicious. It sounded like the cat meant-

No. She couldn't.

"Pretty simple, considering the complexity. I find a kit not long for the world, take a waiting spirit, and switch 'em out. The kit-spirit says with me until I find a place for them. And then I start over," She flicked her eyes to Spottedleaf. "It always throws me off when Starclan sends a cat, but oh well. I'll find a particularly weak litter next time."

If she was breathing, Spottedleaf would have gasped. Instead she put the most shocked inflection she could on her next words.

"You mean, you kill kits and, and just place other cat's spirit's in their bodies?"

The cat snorted. "No. I find a kit with a spirit too weak to survive_, _and change it out with a stronger spirit. Then I keep the kit's spirit until it's strong enough, and put it in the best situation I mother gets a healthy litter, and the spirit gets a better chance."

When you put it that way, it didn't sound so bad. But Spottedleaf was no stranger to playing up the good sides of a situation, and brushing of the painful. Lying by omission, then convincing yourself it didn't matter.

"So, you'll find a dying kit, and switch it's spirit with mine, right? Nothing else to it?" She questioned, trying to make sure the cat couldn't leave anything out.

"Finally," It sighed, "You understand perfectly, except one thing: a spirit as strong as yours, with so much baggage, would destroy a kit's body. I'll have to remove some of that, to make it weaker."

Spottedleaf drew back.

"What kind of 'baggage' is that, exactly?"

"Oh, mainly memories. A few other things, but nothing you'll miss."

"Wait. You're going to take my memories? But won't I need those?" She floundered for an excuse, but she knew it was pointless. Cinderpelt had lost her memories, hadn't she? What made Spottedleaf any different?

"Not all of them,"

She purred with relief.

"You need to know how to breathe and blink and swallow, but not much else. The rest would just make you restless, and confused. Without them, you'll be a new kit, ready to lead a new life and end up in Starclan."

All the air rushed out of her, dropping her to a slumped position.

"So just like like Cinderpelt?" She sighed.

The cat nodded vigorously. "Exactly. So if you'll just step over to this pool," It swept its tail over the ground, and in a place she would have sworn was empty, a glimmering pool appeared.

The cat walked around it, and Spottedleaf followed hesitantly.

"Yes, here we go… Kit three would be stillborn, but not if I give it a little help…" The cat looked up at Spottedleaf. "Will this work for you?"

She looked into the pool and saw three vaguely cat shaped figures. All were shades of gold, wispy like fog. Two looked almost solid, pulsing like a heartbeat. The third sputtered weakly, glowing bright before flickering out.

"I.. I suppose."

"Wonderful! Now, if you'll just step in and take a drink."

She flicked a paw into the water, and to her surprise she could see the paw. A flash of white leading into tortoiseshell that vanished in seconds.

"What... What happens when I do?"

"Well, the drink will make your spirit light, and you'll float to the bottom of the pool and into the kit. She'll sink to the top and I'll pull her out. Switch done, you're alive again."

She regretted asking. She got the gist of it, but the cat's contradictions made her more confused.

_Is it worth it? _She thought, staring at the pool. _Is it worth losing all my memories, just to leave this place?_

She looked around, from the nothingness to the cat, sitting quietly by the pond, and back to the nothing.

_Yes, It is._

She stepped into the pool.

The water felt like a combination of fire and ice, shooting up her body until every hair on her pelt was visible and _real._

Without another thought, she took a drink,

Here looked as safe as any place to put down a nest and _finally _have her kits. Soft grass, shady trees, and no one around.

Drift sat down and let the kits come like they'd been wanting to for the better part of the day.

After the grueling moons of carrying the little freeloaders around in her belly, restricted to doing only those activities safe for the little creatures, the pain was minimal. And over remarkably quickly.

She looked down to see what her labors had earned her. There were three, a good number, but not ideal. Four would have been better.

Two males and a female. The males were considerably larger, but the female nursed fiercely as a newborn kit could. A little fighter.

With a sigh, she settled down. She could train these kits to be fierce and cunning enough to make a name for themselves, and her job would be done.

She would have to find a new den, though. This place was far too unprotected, and the scent of other cats crept towards her on the wind, stale but recent. With the three furballs besides herself to protect, she would be defenseless against an attack.

The bone eating cats they spoke of would kill her in seconds, and probably feed her kits to a badger. Yes, a new den would be necessary. Just as soon as the kits could walk.

Drift awoke to the sound of pawsteps.

Immediately she unsheathed her claws and arched her back, before remembering the kits.

Biting back a hiss, she rose up and circled the nest. She didn't have the best hearing skills, but it didn't _sound l_ike that many cats_. _If she could kill one, and then the other was slow at getting to the kits-

Her thoughts were cut off when the cats emerged from the underbrush.

"Hello! Just letting you know you're on Thunderclan territory," One began in a perky mew. "You and your kits can come back to camp with us or you can leave-"

Drift pounced, aiming for the throat. The cat fell down, and after a quick blow to the head, stayed down. Drift turned to face the others- Two more, she could handle them- only to see them retreating. One ran back the way it came, and the other advanced again, but slowly.

"Please! We won't hurt your kits, we're just offering a place to stay!" It pleaded.

"Liar," She snarled, before picking up the kit closest to her and running.

She ran until she was exhausted, only dropping when her lungs screamed and the kit mewled for milk.

She sat it down in front of her and panted until she felt her sides would split. Her eyes watered and stung, but her ears could still hear the whimpers of the kit.

She picked it up, and placed it where it could nurse. She had gotten the bigger male.

_Such great potential in the other two, wasted. _

Her heart lurched. _You left them to those bone eaters. You left them to die._

She dragged her thoughts away, to the one kit in front of her.

She had to focus on what she had left.

* * *

AN/ Welcome, all to the new Not Wasting This! If you read the old one, you should know what's going on, but if not and you want to, click the link on my profile. So far the main (and only) question I've gotten is whether or not the last chapter of NWT was the end, and my answer is kinda, but mostly no. This story will get an actual ending, but it's different than what NWT would have had.

I'm looking forward to storying with you all, and invite you to let me know of your likes, dislikes, or any errors you found in a review. :)


	2. Re-entry

Hazletail slumped to the ground, not even bothering to chase after the rouge. She'd done enough damage, what use could it possibly be to chase after for the chance of more?

Her brother had ran back to cam immediately, quickly hissing for her to stay with Millie and the kits.

Mille had been the patrol leader, the most senior warrior, it was only natural that she'd been the one to try to talk with the rouge.

Only natural that the rogue had struck out at her frst.

Now Mille was laying on the ground, the wound just under her throat bleeding onto the grass.

to her other side, Hazletail could see the kits, mewling and wriggling in their nest. She could hear their confusion in there whimpers. _Where is mother? Where is the milk?_

A thick fog seemed to roll into Hazletail's mind as she flicked back between the bleeding warrior and the mewling kits.

_I can't do this_

Mille let out a quiet groan, but instead of being reassured that she was alive, it just made her panic more.

_can'tdoitcan'thelpherwhere'smousewhiskerineedhelp-_

The piercing whine of a kit broke into her thoughts, dragging her closer to reality.

_The kits are cold._

This was something she could fix. She was no medicine cat, she couldn't do a thing for her bleeding clanmate. But anything with a pulse could curl around some kits.

She lurched up to her paws, stiffly making her way to the nest. She dropped herself in, only thinking of delicacy on her way down.

The kits quieted, and snuggled up to her after a few seconds. All was well.

Or, as well as any situation with a possibly-dying warrior, and a traumatized she cat curled around good-as-orphaned kits could be.

What a picture they'd make.

Mousewhisker thundered towards the clump of trees where he'd left Mille and his sister, Bramblestar, Jayfeather, Graystripe and Lionblaze in tow.

Though he was sure of the general direction, it took Mousewhisker longer than he would have liked to find them. Was it right at the twisted pine, or left? Even if he wasn't in a state of mild panic, he wouldn't be sure.

When he did find the rest of his patrol, the cats around him went into immediate action. Graystripe let out a strangled yowl at the sight of his mate, and rushed towards her with Jayfeather on his tail.

Bramblestar turned to Hazletail and immediately started questioning her about what happened after Mousewhisker left, but all she would say was "She's gone now." Agitated, Bramblestar stalked back to Jayfeather, and Mousewhisker thought he heard him murmur something about shock.

With a sigh, he walked over to his was curled around the rogue's kits, gently grooming one. He could see that her muscles were pulled taught, and the the fur on her back and neck was spiked. As relaxed as she looked, she was ready to pounce.

"Hi," he said, his mew surprisingly feeble as he sat down next to her.

She looked over at him, visibly relaxing. "Hi. Will you look after the other it? It's so cold out here, I don't want them to catch a chill."

"But…" He almost told her it wasn't nearly cold enough for that, before he noticed her shivering.

Bramblestar's words came back to him. Shock. Was unexplained chill a sign of extreme shock? Either way, he'd have to make sure Jayfeather checked Hazletail over. Until then, he'd just try to keep her calm.

"Sure," he mewed, picking up kit and moving it closer. He licked its head, not wanting to smother it like Hazletail seemed to be doing.

"I wonder who'll take them. They're such sweeties, I'd take them if I could. But I'm just a warrior." She rambled, surprisingly calm considering how worked up she'd just been.

"Yeah, but I'm sure one of the queens will take good care of them. Cinderheart and Brightheart both have litters, and there's always Daisy."

"Yeah…" She trailed off.

After a few moments of silence, broken only by the rasp of Hazletail's tongue, Jayfeather appeared over them.

"We need to carry Mille back to camp. Hazeltail, you and I will take the kits. Mousewhisker, you need to go help the others."

He nodded, passing his kit to Jayfeather.

"Hey, 'ousewisker, com' pick up her back 'egs" Lionblaze muttered, around Mille's scruff. He did what he was told, trying to find a gentle way to pick up her legs. Not gentle enough, apparently, as Mille groaned a bit.

Quickly, Graystripe and Brambleclaw ducked under so she rested on their backs. Mousewhisker dropped her legs, then stood beside them.

"Now, just walk very carefully back to camp." Lionblaze mewed.

And they did. It was an odd procession, a blind cat and and a shell-shocked she cat carrying kits, followed by two cats with a bleeding warrior strung across their backs, flanked by the only able-bodied warriors in the group.

By the time they made it back to camp, news had spread. Several cats paced nervously, and Jayfeather's new apprentice, Lilypaw, seemed to have brought out every herb she thought useful. Daisy paced in the mouth of the nursery, immediately coming over when she saw the kits.

"Lionblaze, grab the other one from Jayfeather. We'll put these with Cinderheart," She said, scooping up Hazletail's kit.

As soon as Lionblaze grabbed Jayfeather's kit, he called out to to Lilypaw.

"Mille needs cobwebs and tasty. Oh, and get Hazletail something for shock."

Cinderheart's ears perked up as Daisy entered the nursery, especially when she caught sight of Lionblaze.

"Are the its okay?"

Daisy nodded, before looking quickly between her and Brightheart.

"Which of us will nurse them?" Brightheart asked. Her kits stirred at the sound of her mew, but didn't wake. Thank goodness, because they would just make it chaotic.

Daisy gently dropped her kit into Cinderheart's nest, and Cinderheart scooted her own its out of the way.

"They're newborns, much closer to Cinderheart's litter." Daisy explained, and Lionblaze also placed a kit in her est.

They immediately started nursing, greedy enough to make her glad her own kits weren't trying to feed.

They would never pass for her own kits, dark brown and dappled while her own kits were a beautiful mix of herself and Lionblaze. Rainkit was grey with amber eyes and Tawnykit golden brown with blue eyes and a single white paw.

In her heart, Cinderheart knew it wouldn't matter. As soon as these kits had landed in her nest, she loved them. They were so small and helpless, wanting nothing more than a mother, that it would be cruel not to.

"Lionblaze, I named ours, you can name these." She mewed.

He settled down around her nest, looking closely at the kits.

"A tom and a she cat?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Well, the she kit can be named Dapplekit, because she's all dapply." He mewed slowly, before licking the kit's head.

She had to hold back a purr. It wasn't a bad name, or even a strange reason for the name. The big tabby's reluctance, after he was normally so confident, was just a bit funny.

"And the tom… This is harder. I say… Adderkit. Adders are brownish, right?"

To the best of her knowledge, they were, and she said as much. "But, don't you think it's a big name for a little kit? Adders are vicious predators, and the kit is so tiny."

Lionblaze purred. "I was once a tiny kit, and I was named _Lion_kit, and I grew up, and now i'm as strong as a lion. Do you argue with my logic?""

Cinderheart couldn't help but purr back.

"Welcome to the clan, kits."

* * *

AN/ Well, that's done. I don't know why, I just didn't like writing this chapter.

If you didn't get it, Dapplekit=Spottedkit and Adderkit=Stripekit.

Also, and more importantly, I haven't read The Last Hope in a while, and don't have access to a copy, so if I mess with cannon/ get OOC, _please _let me know. I'm working on it, but it might take a while.

Reviews appreciated!


	3. Restart

Drift sat the kit down, and took a second to taste the air. The pine trees surrounding her made her think she was heading the right way, but it was hard to tell. Everything looked the same too her here.

The scent confirmed it. After a day of walking and stopping to nurse every ten minutes, she was finally close to a-

No, friend wasn't the right word. Non-enemy was closer to the truth.

She didn't like her idea, especially when the corner of the housefolk den came into view. She'd much rather raise the kit on her own, until it was strong and able to be on it's own. But that wouldn't work.

Besides, it was too late now. Those two could tell if a mouse scurried across their garden from a monster's length away. Any second now one would come dashing out from behind the fence, ready to pounce until they saw it was her.

At least, she hoped they'd stop.

Just as she predicted, Jacques came leaping over the fence with claws outstretched, ready to claw the muzzle off of whoever set paw in his territory. He stopped just short of her, his eyes widening as he saw the kit.

"Well, Drift. You've been busy since I've last seen you."

She swallowed a growl, and set the kit between her paws.

"Not now, Jack. I want to talk to Susan."

"It's _Jacques,_" He huffed, "And I'm in charge around here, not you, missy. You'll tell me what you want to say and I'll decide whether or not it's worth our time."

Drift could find several flaws in that logic, but she held her tongue. Angering Jacques would do nothing but hurt her. But Susan would listen, and if she knew anything, she would be out soon now that she'd heard her name.

"Jacques, _I'm _in charge, and don't you forget it. " Susan growled, as she squeezed through a hole in the fence.

Drift turned to face the other she cat. "Susan, I need to ask you a favor."

"And I take it it has something to do with that kit?"

She nodded tersely. "I don't think I can take care of it. The rest of the litter was-"

_abandoned_

She swallowed hard. "Stolen. I can't protect this one with the bone eaters that stole the others around. And I'd like to train it, but I'm not sure if I can adequately train only one kit with no one it's age."

She was making up reasons now, but she had to convince them. She couldn't find a mate, have another litter,with a kit dangling from her jaw.

"And you want me and Jacques to give it to our housefolk to raise." Susan mewed, betraying no emotion.

"Well, not exactly. I'd like you and Jack to raise it, train it. So it can take care of itself when it's old enough." She replied, her mew dropping off a bit at the end.

Susan stared at her for a full five seconds, before purring uncontrollably. The noise made the kit between her paws whimper and mewl, and Jacques began to purr as well. All the noises culminated into a dull, throbbing ache at the base of her head,that spread out until it clouded her vision.

"Susan," She began, her words more growl than mew, "This isn't a joke. If you aren't going to take me seriously…"

"But _Drift," _She panted, "How can I take you seriously when you're being ridiculous? If you want me to burden myself with the upbringing of a kit, keeping it from my housefolk, training it, for _seasons, _you're going to have to offer me some incentive."

Drift fidgeted a bit.

"I suppose I could bring you prey, or something…" She trailed off. How should she know what this cat wanted from her?

"Oh, no, dear. I know what I want, and it's not as mundane as that."

"Well, what is it?"  
"I want the kit." Susan mewed.

"But, Susan, that was the original…" She began.

"No. Your offer was that you give me and Jacques the kit, and we do your job for you until you feel like you want the kit back. I want you to give me this kit, do raise how I see fit. You won't have any say in what I do, and the kit will _remain_ mine."

Drift wanted to turn away, to scream at this waste of a cat for _daring _to ask such a thing of her.

But she didn't.

"Sure," she mewed, feigning disinterest. "Take him." She nudged the kit over with a paw.

Susan backed up.

"Oh no you don't. You're going to stay here and nurse that kit until it's weaned. Then I'll take over."

The words fell on her, registering but failing to impact. Surely she wouldn't be leaving as soon as the kit could survive without her… but one thing registered.

"We keep calling him 'kit'. I was thinking of calling him Branch." She mewed.

"Nonsense. My kit will be called something better. Jacques, do you like Rumble?" Susan mewed.

"Fine with me." He mewed. As he walked past Drift, he turned to her and mewed:

"You can nurse him and sleep in the flowers." before leaping back over the fence.

Drift picked her- No, _Susan's_ kit up, and stood for a moment. Was she really being regulated to nothing more than a wet nurse for her own kit?

_You chose this, _she reminded herself.

Susan's mew broke into her thoughts.

"Oh, stop looking so upset. Rumble'll be fine with us. I mean, we did alright with you."

* * *

Her bleary eyes opened to the sight of another kit staring down at her.

"Hi! Your eyes are open! Do you wanna go play?" It said.

She opened her mouth, and squeaked out a few words. "Who are you?"

"I'm Rainkit, silly! You're Dapplekit, and those sleepy furballs are Tawnykit and Adderkit. Mama's name is Cinderheart."

_Mama? _She looked around, and her eyes came to rest on a big cat curled around her, providing a constant warmth she'd hardly noticed.

"Mama's _big._" Dapplekit mewed, a bit in awe.

"I know," Rainkit purred. "You should see some of the other warriors. Bramblestar's huge, too!"

Mama's head turned, her own eyes blinking open slowly.

"Hello, Dapplekit. It's nice to see you with your eyes open!"

Her eyes shifted over the pair.

"I suppose you two want to go explore now." She sighed.

Rainkit nodded vigorously, and Dapplekit followed.

"Well, I suppose you can go out, but stay where I can see you until your brothers wake up."

"Yay! Come on, Dapplekit!"

Rainkit dashed out of the den, with Dapplekit close on her heels. Cinderheart"s mews to be careful faded into background noise as the hustle and bustle of the camp took over.

Even sitting just out of the mouth of the nursery, it was a bit overwhelming. So many cats, more than she thought could exist, moved around the hollow. Every now and then one would call out a hello, one even stopped to nuzzle them.

But they weren't in any danger of filling up the camp like they would the nursery. Camp was _huge. _Tall stone walls, so high over her head they scraped sky, guarded every side. The camp itself seemed to stretch on forever, so long she be exhausted if she tried to walk across.

"Woah." Rainkit mewed, before dashing off.

"Rainkit!" She squeaked out, "Cinderheart told us to stay…" She was long gone.

Dapplekit had no choice:

She dashed off in pursuit of her sister.

* * *

AN/ This chapter was fun to write. Sorry it took a while to get published, though. School project was eating my life. (also, sorry about the overabundance of exclamation points. Kits are hard to write.)


	4. Replay

AN/ I'm so sorry.

Her heart pounded up into her throat as she dashed behind Rainkit. Rainkit hadn't had that much of a head start, but still Dapplekit was only able to catch sight of her tail waving throughout the camp.  
"Hello, Dapplekit."  
"Rainkit?" She whirled around.  
She was met with a large cat, grey and white. Definitely not Rainkit.  
"No, I'm Mousewhisker. Are you lost? Do you want me to take you back to the nursery?" he asked, already bending to pick her up.

"No," she scrambled out of his way. If she went back to the nursery, Rainkit might never be found! She was losing enough time as it was.  
"Well," he said, drawing back up, "If you want to play, there's no reason not to as long as you behave."

She ran off, calling out a 'thanks!' behind her. Where could Rainkit be? Should she even bother looking, or head back to the nursery in defeat?

Just as she was about to turn around, and slink back in shame, she heard a joyful cry.  
"Yay! And then what happened?"  
She perked her ears, hoping to hear more. It could have been Rainkit, but how could she be sure?  
Well, there aren't any other leads…  
She padded forward, apprehensively this time. Cinderheart surely couldn't see her from here, wouldn't know if she got hurt. She had to be careful.  
After what felt like moons, she came across a small den. She could hear Rainkit!  
Quickly she stuck her head in, and sure enough, Rainkit sat wide-eyed in front of several large cats.  
"Dapplekit!" Rainkit squealed, grabbing her scruff and trying to drag her into the den.  
"Rainkit, we have to go back the nursery!" She whined.  
One of the big cats purred, "Now, young'un, I'm sure you can both stay a bit and hear another story."  
She fearfully turned her eyes to the cat that had spoken. It was a bony tom with a ragged pelt. his mew was scratchy and low. She shrunk away instinctively.  
A different cat stood up. This one was much easier to look at, with a clean ginger pelt and clear eyes.  
"Now, Purdy," she mewed, "Cinderheart might not want them this far away. Rainkit, you should have told us if you were supposed to go back."  
"But Sandstorm! It's so boring over there. And I don't think and of the queens know any stories."  
"Rainkit you and Dapplekit need to go back to our mother when she says so. if-"  
"Sandstorm, you never let anyone have any fun." A grey tom stood up, quickly becoming the largest cat in the den. "Come on, kits, I'll take you back." He dipped his head closer to them.  
"But we'll go the long way."  
he strode out of the den, and Rainkit eagerly followed. Dapplekit followed unsure, sticking close to her sister.  
"You see, that's the warriors den Some nights I forget and go there, but I sleep in the elders den now. That's the apprentice's den, where you two will be in a few moons. And that's the leaders den and- Hey, Bramblestar!"  
Dapplekit broke her attention from Graystripe's nearly endless stream of information, only to see the biggest, most scary looking cat she had ever seen.  
It was a tall tom, with a spiky brown pelt and bright amber eyes. He stood with his tail high, a bit taller than Graystripe.  
She cowered behind her sister. he could crush her beneath his paws!  
"Hello, Graystripe. It's nice to see you up and about."  
Graystripe snorted, making Dapplekit flinch. "I'm only a few seasons older than you. Don't act like I'm Purdy, I've still got plenty of fight in me." He finished in a purr, which drew Dapplekit back out.  
"Okay then. But if you'll introduce me to the kits, I don't think we've met."  
"I'm Rainkit!" her horrible, perky sister mewed. Bramblestar turned his head to her, and she was forced to reply.  
"Dapplekit…" she squeaked out, flinching bit as he purred.  
"Well, Dapplekit, Rainkit, Why don't I take you the rest of the way back to the nursery/ Graystripe, If you want, you can go hunt."  
"Well, If it's an order,' Graystripe said, but the twinkle in his eyes was impossible to miss, "I'll invite Sandstorm along, too."  
Graystripe padded off in the opposite direction of Bramblestar, who headed towards the nursery. Now, she followed easily, she knew where she was going.  
when they entered the nursery, Cinderheart immediately stood up.  
"Bramblestar, did they give you trouble/ I'm so sorry-"  
"No, they were fine, I just thought I'd visit my kin.' He cut her off.  
"Well, then I'll introduce you. You know Rainkit and Dapplekit, and this one is Adderkit. The one who hasn't opened his eyes is Tawnykit."  
"They're lovely, Cinderheart. It's been nice meeting you all,' he looked at the kit, and her gaze followed his as he looked at Adderkit.  
His newly-opened eyes were clear amber, slightly different from Rainkit's darker eyes. She found herself wondering which one she was more like.  
Soon enough, the nursery was quiet. Cinderheart had smoothed their pelts down and sat them back in the nest. Rainkit and Adderkit seemed to be having a staring contest, and Dapplekit found herself idly batting at a bit of moss. Rainkit broke off from her staring to join her, ripping at a similar bit of moss. Adderkit, now left alone, stealthily pounced on Tawnykit's tail.  
Within seconds, the silence shattered. Adderkit let out a victorious growl, Tawnykit's eyes flew open with a yelp, and Cinderheart growled at them all.  
"If you don't want to sit in here, you should have told me. Now, all of you, go and play until you're ready to eat."  
So they went outside.  
And Starclan, did they play.

AN/ Like I said, sorry. This chapter is sucktastic.  
Good news: No more horrible fillers!  
Bad news: This is probably the only chapter where we see them as kits. their next chap will probably be a bit of playing and the apprentice ceremony, maybe with a side of rumble.  
But if it makes it any better, I have a list of events you can safely assume happened.  
*Adderkit followed Bramblestar like a shadow for a whole day, trying to learn how to be leader. Every one said something about the little kit following him, but Bramblestar pretended not to notice.  
*Amberkit tricked all of them into thinking that she was the deputy's deputy, and they followed her orders until Brightheart got Amberkit in trouble.  
*Tawnykit. got stuck in a bush while playing hide-and-seek. He Refused to ask for help because it would give away his location. He was there for around five hours.  
And also, I'll probably be a bit late with the next chapter because I'm working on a mammoth oneshot. Like, 8,000 words. It'll connect the oneshot at the end of Not Wasting This to Starlight, in the dismal way you should come to expect from me.  
Want the summary? Too bad, you're getting it anyway.  
Now I know.  
I know that I was a rambunctious kit and an unruly apprentice. I know that I was a terrible mentor.  
I know I was an outcast. I know I fled to my enemy. I know that I loved, and I was betrayed.  
I know that with a swipe of my claws, I threw it all away.  
I know why I am fading from the dark forest, and I know I wish I didn't.


End file.
